Shawn Johnson
| died= | hometown= Des Moines, Iowa | knownfor= Gymnast | season= Dancing with the Stars 8 Dancing with the Stars 15 | partner= Mark Ballas (Season 8) Derek Hough (Season 15) | place= 1 (Season 8) 2 (Season 15) | highestscore= 30 (Argentine Tango, Freestyle, Cha-Cha-Cha; Season 8) 30 (Tango-Paso Fusion, Bhangra, Freestyle, Cha-Cha-Cha; Season 15) | lowestscore= 23 (Waltz; Season 8) 22 (Foxtrot; Season 15) | averagescore= 26.9 (Season 8) 27.9 (Season 15) }} Shawn Johnson East is the winning celebrity of Season 8 and a contestant on Season 15 of Dancing with the Stars. Early and Personal Life Johnson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of Doug and Teri Johnson. Her parents enrolled her in a gymnastics class at age three after they noticed her climbing cabinets and jumping off tables. At age six, Johnson was one of Liang Chow's first students when he opened a gymnastics school in West Des Moines. Johnson attended Valley High School. She was on the honor roll, and liked to attend football games, and dances. Through 2008, Johnson maintained a more balanced lifestyle than typical of elite female gymnasts. She limited her gymnastics training to 25 hours per week, as opposed to the more typical 40 hours. Johnson left public school in the spring of 2009. She and her mother relocated to Los Angeles, California before appearing on Dancing with the Stars. As of 2010, she finished high school with a private tutor. Since late 2013, she is enrolled at Vanderbilt University studying sports psychology and nutrition. Johnson is married to Andrew East, formerly of the Oakland Raiders of the NFL. They were engaged in July 2015 at Wrigley Field during a Chicago Cubs game and were married on April 16, 2016. They live in Nashville, Tennessee. In November 2015, she revealed that she suffered from an eating disorder in 2008 in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics. She admitted she only used to eat around 700 calories per day – less than half of the minimum recommended calorie intake for a sixteen-year-old girl. Gymnastics Career Junior Career Pre-Elite When she was twelve, Johnson competed in the Junior Olympics (U.S. Level 10) National Championships, finishing fourth in the all-around, first on beam, and second on floor. As a youngster, Johnson was not scouted by USA Gymnastics, and her coach, Liang Chow, had no interactions with the national staff. In 2005, Chow reached out to the National Team Coordinator, Marta Karolyi, sending her a video of Johnson with the comment "I believe this kid will help the U.S. team." Karolyi felt the action was audacious, "Wow, this coach is pretty confident", but she soon invited Johnson to national team training camps. Junior Elite Johnson qualified Junior International Elite on her first attempt. She attracted widespread attention at the 2005 U.S. Classic, where she placed third. At the 2005 U.S. National Championships, Johnson fell from the beam on the first day of competition and finished tenth all-around. In 2006, Johnson added several new tricks, including a Jaeger on bars, and two top-difficulty (G) skills, a full-in back-out dismount off beam and a double-twisting double back on floor. She won the 2006 U.S. Junior National All-Around Championship with a score higher than any of her senior elite competitors. Senior Career 2007: Pre-Worlds Johnson became a senior in 2007 and continued to show new skills, including a double-twisting double layout dismount off the uneven bars. She competed at the 2007 Tyson American Cup, winning the all-around over teammate Natasha Kelley. Johnson also competed in the 2007 Pan American Games, winning four gold medals (team, all-around, beam and bars) and a silver on floor. Johnson won the all-around at the 2007 Visa U.S. National Championships, beating Shayla Worley by more than three points. Johnson also finished more than five points ahead of two-time National Champion Nastia Liukin, in the first of a series of face-offs over the next two years. 2007 World Championships Johnson represented the U.S. at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships along with Nastia Liukin, Shayla Worley, Alicia Sacramone, Ivana Hong, and Samantha Peszek. In prelims (qualification), Johnson scored 16.250 on beam, 15.150 on floor, 15.175 on vault, and (with a fall on her dismount) 14.625 on bars. The U.S. finished first in prelims and Johnson qualified to the all-around, beam, and floor finals. Johnson performed all four events in the team finals; the only U.S. athlete to do this. Johnson scored 15.375 on bars and floor, and 15.150 on vault. She fell on the beam on her handspring-handspring-layout series and scored 15.025. The team won gold with 184.400 points, 0.950 ahead of silver-medal China. It was the second U.S. team gold in the World Championships. In the all-around finals, Johnson scored a 15.175 on vault, 15.375 on bars, 15.900 on beam and 15.425 on floor. Her 61.875 total made her the fourth American woman to win the all-around gold medal. During event finals, Johnson first competed on the balance beam, where she fell on her standing full and on her switch side leap, scoring a 14.475 and finishing last. In floor exercise, she went out-of-bounds on her first tumbling pass, but won the gold with a 15.250, just eclipsing teammate Sacramone. 2008: Pre-Olympics Johnson competed again in the American Cup on March 1, 2008 in Madison Square Garden. On vault, she fell on her Amanar vault, scoring a 15.175. She stated that her attempt to "stick" the vault caused the fall. On the other apparatus, she scored 15.625 on bars, 16.325 on beam, and 15.975 on floor. Although Johnson scored first on the vault, balance beam, and floor, she finished second in the all-around. Nastia Liukin won gold with an uneven bars score nearly a point higher than Johnson. One week later, Johnson represented the U.S. in Jesolo, Italy against Italy, Spain, and Poland, along with Jana Bieger, Olivia Courtney, Chelsea Davis, Bridget Sloan, and Samantha Peszek. The U.S. won the junior and senior all-around team titles. Johnson won the all-around with a 61.7, earning the highest scores on vault (15.2), beam (16.2), and floor (15.0). Johnson finished first on floor, despite falling, on her double-double mount. On June 7, 2008, Johnson won the 2008 U.S. Visa Championships. Johnson scored 127.5, winning the all-around title by one point ahead of Liukin. Johnson also won the floor exercise. Two weeks later, Johnson won the all-around at the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, again finishing ahead of Liukin. Because of their top placements, Johnson and Liukin were named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team immediately after the Trials. The other four 2008 team members earned their spots after two additional selection camps. 2008 Summer Olympics At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Johnson competed in all four events during the team competition, in which the United States won the silver medal. Johnson also won the silver medal in the individual all-around competition, receiving a score of 62.725. Johnson's teammate and roommate at the Olympic Village, Nastia Liukin, won the gold medal, receiving a score of 63.325. With Liukin taking gold and Johnson silver, this competition was the first time that the United States Women's Gymnastics team took both the gold and silver medals in the individual all-around competition; this competition also marks the fourth time a country won both gold and silver medals in the individual all-around competition. She won the silver medal in floor exercise, with teammate Liukin taking bronze. She won a gold medal on the balance beam apparatus. Like the individual all-around, she and Liukin took the top two medals in this event. She qualified as the second reserve to the uneven bars final, but did not compete. Comeback In January 2010, Johnson tore her left ACL while skiing. She had reconstructive knee surgery the following month. In May 2010, Johnson announced her return to gymnastics training with a goal of making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. In August 2010, Johnson communicated that her knee recovered to allow full training and that she had learned a new difficult skill. In November 2010, Johnson entered her first post-Olympics National Team Training Camp. Although, she had expected to return to the "ranch" later in her comeback, based on the demonstrated progress in her video, Marta Karolyi requested that she appear sooner. Johnson mentioned that her reconstructed knee still hindered high training volume. In February 2011, Johnson became an official member of the USA Senior National team once again which allowed her to compete in international competitions. She stated that she wished to return to competition later in 2011. In September 2011 Johnson was named a non-traveling alternate to the 2011 USA Women's World Championships Team. In October 2011 Johnson was named to the 2011 Pan American Games Team. She won a gold medal in the team competition and also a silver medal for her performance on the uneven bars. Retirement On 3 June 2012, Johnson ended her comeback for the 2012 Olympic team and retired because of continuing problems with her left knee. In Popular Culture In April 2009, she appeared in the music video "Do You Love Me" by Ballas Hough Band wearing one of her Dancing with the Stars costumes. Later, she reunited with one of the show hosts, Tom Bergeron, at the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee to discuss her victory. Johnson has appeared on many talk shows: The Today Show (3 times), CCTV (20 August 2008), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (24 August 2008), The Late Show with David Letterman (25 August 2008), The Oprah Winfrey Show (8 September 2008), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (4 times), Live with Regis and Kelly (22 October 2008), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (20 May 2009), and Entertainment Tonight (23 episodes). Johnson was a celebrity participant in the 2009 Taco Bell All-Star Legends Celebrity Softball Game which aired 13 July 2009 on ESPN. On 13 August 2009, she appeared in the celebrity edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. She correctly answered a question about the lyrics to "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" winning $50,000 for her chosen charity, Blank Children's Hospital. In September 2008, she made a cameo appearance in The Secret Life of the American Teenager season one episode "Just Say No". She made a second appearance in the series, in the season two episode, "Just Say Me", which aired 25 January 2010. Johnson judged the 2010 Miss America pageant. In September 2013, Johnson was a guest star in the revival of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Johnson was named as a cast member for the 2015 season of Celebrity Apprentice. She was the sixth contestant fired from the show. Public Appearances Johnson led the Pledge of Allegiance on 28 August 2008 at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. On 27 July 2009, Johnson led the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field. Stalking Incident On 25 March 2009, a stalker was arrested after jumping a fence and sneaking onto the CBS lot. According to court documents filed in Los Angeles, 34-year-old Robert O'Ryan was arrested while in possession of guns, duct tape, zip ties, and love letters to Johnson, who was seventeen at the time. O'Ryan left his home in Florida and traveled to California, believing that Johnson spoke to him through the television via ESP, stating that they would be together and have a child. The Johnson family filed a restraining order against O'Ryan. O'Ryan was charged with felony stalking, burglary, and two misdemeanor counts of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle. O'Ryan pled not guilty by reason of insanity, and was convicted in 2010 on all counts and was committed to Patton State Hospital for a maximum of five years. Dancing with the Stars 8 In February 2009, Johnson became a celebrity competitor in ABC's Dancing with the Stars Season 8, partnered with Season 6 winner, professional dancer Mark Ballas. In the finale, tightest in the show's history, Johnson beat Gilles Marini by less than one percent. She was the youngest champion in show's history until Laurie Hernandez won in Season 23 and was the youngest contestant until Zendaya in Season 16. Scores Dancing with the Stars 15 On 24 September 2012, Johnson again became a contestant in Dancing with the Stars, in the all-star edition (Season 15). Her partner this time was three-time champion Derek Hough. The team of Johnson and Hough came in second place to Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani. During the finale, which aired 27 November 2012, Len Goodman called Johnson "The No-Stress Express", stating that every piece that was thrown at her, she pulled off with little stress, and turned out a clean performance. In week three, judge Bruno Tonioli called Johnson, and her partner, Derek Hough "The Incredibles", after their performance on stage, stating that it was "The best routine I have seen in fifteen seasons in America [of Dancing with the Stars] and nine in the UK [with Strictly Come Dancing]. Scores Trivia * Shawn is the first Olympic gymnast to appear on the show. ** Alexandra Raisman made it to the finals in Season 16 finishing in fourth place. ** Her Olympic teammate Nastia Liukin made it to the semifinals in Season 20 and came in fourth. ** Laurie Hernandez won Season 23. ** Simone Biles made it to the semifinals in Season 24 and came in fourth. * She is the first celebrity born in the 1990s to win. She was the youngest celebrity to win Dancing with the Stars at seventeen years old, a record she shared with Bindi Irwin. * She became engaged to Andrew East, a professional football player, in July 2015, during a Chicago Cubs game. ** They were married on 16 April 2016. ** They live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their dog Nash. ** On 21 October 2017, they revealed in a YouTube video that they were expecting a child, but had suffered a miscarriage. ** On 4 April 2019, they announced that they were expecting a child. *** Their daughter, Drew Hazel, was born 29 October 2019. Gallery Shawn and Mark S8 2.jpg Shawn and Mark S8 1.jpg Shawn and Mark S8.jpg Shawn-mark-trophy1.jpg Shawn-johnson-DWTS-trophy.jpg Shawn and Mark S8 Champions.jpg Shawn-trophy.jpg ShawnJohnson1.jpg Qa-shawn-johnson-1.jpg Shawn-johnson-nike.jpg Shawn-Derek-Promo15.jpg Shawn johnson dwts w640.jpeg Shawn-johnson-mambo-dwts.jpg Category:Females Category:Contestants Category:Season 8 contestants Category:Season 15 contestants Category:Champions Category:Athletes Category:Olympians Category:Runners-up Category:Former Olympic gymnasts